EVANSTON, ILL. — No. 4 Ohio State visits No. 16 Northwestern today in a game that features one team looking to extend the nation’s longest winning streak and another seeking that signature victory.

What better way to do it than with a prime-time audience watching?

“It’s why we come to Ohio State,” Ohio State defensive lineman Michael Bennett said. “Big games, night games are awesome. We play really well on the road. I don’t how many places can say they have back-to-back night games which are huge games.”

The Buckeyes (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) have won 17 straight since dropping four in a row to close out 2011 and are eyeing a national championship after going undefeated in coach Urban Meyer’s first year. However, they were banned from a bowl game in 2012 because of NCAA sanctions stemming from the tattoo scandal.

Now, they’re coming off a 31-24 win against Wisconsin and they’re staring at another big hurdle, a team that wants to show it can beat the best in the Big Ten.

A win against the Buckeyes would do that for the Wildcats (4-0, 0-0).

They cleared one big hurdle in 2012 when they went 10-3 and won a bowl game for the first time since the 1948 team captured the Rose Bowl, and beating Ohio State would be another big feather for Pat Fitzgerald’s program.

The previous time Northwestern knocked off a top-five team, Dwight Eishenhower was in the White House. The Wildcats opened the 1959 season with a win against No. 2 Oklahoma and took out No. 5 Iowa a week later, but they haven’t beaten a team ranked that high since then.

“This is why you come to play Big Ten football and Division I football,” Northwestern defensive lineman Tyler Scott said. “This is where we want our program to be at, to have this hype and this game.”

Here are some things to watch for:

Safety valve

Buckeyes safety Christian Bryant broke his left ankle late in the game against the Badgers and is expected to miss the rest of the regular season. With its defensive leader out, Ohio State was looking at Corey “Pittsburgh” Brown, Tyvis Powell or Vonn Bell as replacements this week. A short-handed secondary could open up the passing game for Northwestern.

“Someone’s going to have to step up,” Meyer said. “I’m anxious to watch and develop new leadership.”

Braxton's back

Braxton Miller looked sharp in his return from a sprained left knee. He matched a career-high with four touchdown passes after missing the previous two games.

On the mark

Running back Venric Mark is expected back for the Wildcats after missing three games with a lower-body injury, a huge boost for them in the running game and on special teams. He ran for 1,366 yards and 12 touchdowns and was a major contributor returning punts and kickoffs in 2012.

Milestone approaching

Northwestern quarterback Kain Colter needs 72 yards rushing to hit the 2,000 mark for his career. He already owns the school season (891) and career (1,928) rushing records for a quarterback.

Urban revival

Meyer has vivid memories of his most recent trip to Northwestern. It was late in 2001, when he was in his first season at Bowling Green, and his Falcons beat the Wildcats 43-42 in a matchup that wasn’t supposed to happen. Both teams had games cancelled in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, and what happened when they got together was nothing short of wild. The Falcons scored 29 points in the fourth quarter, including two touchdowns about 90 seconds apart in the closing minutes, and racked up 618 yards. Northwestern finished with 624 yards.

“We had a six-hour bus ride and we refused to leave the locker room for about two and a half hours,” Meyer said. “Those kids wouldn’t leave and I wouldn’t leave with them. We were just crying and enjoying it.”